Late Night
by LadiesofSherwood
Summary: Robin has a really bad day at work. A one shot in our Out of Order universe.


Late Night

Robin used his shoulder to push into his flat. Light flooded into the foyer, and, with a nudge of his foot, the door shut behind him, casting the room in darkness. He locked the deadbolt with a soft click and shuffled into the kitchen, depositing his raincoat, wallet, iPhone and keys on the countertop.

A small table lamp washed the living room in a soft glow, but everything else was quiet – his family still slumbering in the early hours of morning.

Padding to the bedroom, Robin peeked his head in to check on Regina. A mountain of pillows and an overly, fluffed-up goose down comforter blocked her from his view, barely allowing him to make out the contour of her body buried beneath warmth and coziness.

A smile spread upon his face; and golden rays of sunshine built deep in the pit of his stomach and traveled up to his heart.

Moonlight flickered in through half-opened cream colored curtains, shifting sharp shadows and highlights across the sheets, dwarfing her already lithe frame. She stirred slightly in sleep, revealing the top of her head and rich, chocolate brown waves.

For such a petite woman, Regina sure could make her presence known when she so desired, which happened to be quite often. And, as _often_ as he felt like complaining about her stubbornness, he also knew that he loved that about her as well.

If it wasn't for _that_ _stubbornness_, she never would've decided to stand up to her mother and leave New York, she never would've moved to Seattle, and he never would've met the love of his life.

And that just would not do. At all.

Robin took a deep breath, eased the bedroom door shut, and slowly crept back into the living room.

It had been a very long day. Hell, it had been a very long month, and he found himself gulping down coffee after coffee and stealing naps whenever he could to keep from sleeping till noon.

But today, caffeine didn't quite help his predicament. Hiccup on top of hiccup, one particularly annoying, unruly patron, and an endless amount of paperwork had him bloody exhausted.

What started as a relatively easy day, turned shoddy in an instant, when he and Killian discovered an inventory form was mixed up with a previous week's purchase order. The result – a shortage of signature drafts. Killian determined that they might make it till the next shipment, but it would be close.

Too bloody close for his liking.

He spent most of the afternoon on the phone with his supplier, trying to get them to fulfill another delivery before the weekend. After an hour and a half and a bit of negotiating, he was luckily able to secure three additional cases. But that was only the beginning of his morning issues.

At lunch time, a loud clatter, the sound of steel banging on steel and a series of expletives escaping John's mouth came from the kitchen. Further inspection ruined a majority of his lead chef's day. One of their industrial ovens was being awfully temperamental and needed to be shut down, leaving them down one essential kitchen commodity.

The lunch rush had been a real bitch.

By night's end, John was certain he finally figured out a way to correct it, and when Robin left him just a few minutes ago, he was still testing his theory, but the results looked promising.

Robin plopped down on the couch and reclined heavily into its soft, comfortable depths. He sighed, cracked open one eye, stretched for the remote on the side table, and clicked on the television, scrolling through recordings from yesterday until he found what he wanted. He muted the screen and released the tension in his shoulders, tossing the remote onto the cushion beside him.

God, it felt good to just sit.

He watched the ESPN highlights from last night and tried to clear his mind. This was the first time in nearly eighteen hours where he was allowed to just breathe. Twenty minutes ticked by, and then he powered off the television, letting his head loll onto the back of the couch.

So bloody, fucking tired.

Years and months had gone by since he felt this worn out, his kindergartener had only just been an infant, very young and not sleeping through the night, but this was a different kind of tired. This weariness from was work, and high emotions, worry for Regina's well being, house training puppies, Christmas shopping, juggling new friendships, family activities, a visiting mother, and nightmares returned.

It was just a lot.

All at once.

And he just felt beat.

Robin slowly lifted his feet up and put them on the table, crossing them at his ankles. He inhaled and exhaled a few times.

"Hmm. So this is what you do when you don't come back to bed. You put your feet up on the furniture, thinking you can get away with it when I'm not looking."

Robin opened his eyes and looked to the hallway, Regina standing in her robe and leaning against the wall. He smiled tiredly and held his hand out toward her, inviting her to come sit with him. "You'd better get used to it. There'll be two wee ones, testing your patience soon, even more than I do."

"Oh?" Regina grinned, moving to sit next to him. "And how do you know they'll do that? Perhaps they'll be good, polite, meek little children who listen to their parents without question."

"Not likely," Robin snorted, drawing her into his side. He closed his eyes again, still tired, but more comfortable than before.

"What makes you say that?" She asked, tracing her finger over a button on his linen shirt.

"Hmm?" He hummed, pressing his lips to the crown of her head, breathing her in.

"How do you know our boys will try my patience?"

"Because they are _our_ children, love. And they'll inherit fifty percent of your traits."

"And?"

He chuckled, "And, there is no part of you, Regina Locksley, that is _meek_."

Regina laughed softly and cuddled deeper into his open shoulder. "So you're saying I'm stubborn, right? God, I doubt that was one of the things that attracted you to me. I know I can be a pain sometimes."

Robin shook his head. "No, _that_ is one of the things, and also the fact that you are intelligent, and incredibly beautiful, and funny, and sexy as hell."

"Oh?" She smiled, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, before his fingers replaced hers, and he gently started brushing his thumb along that spot, that wonderfully sensitive spot behind her ear. "All of those things?"

"Yes," he answered easily, completely relaxed now.

Robin could feel himself beginning to drift away and knew he should probably get up, take a quick shower, and get some sleep. Regina looked up and studied the crinkles on his kind and handsome face; his eyes still closed, he was nearly asleep.

"Robin?" She whispered, tenderly cupping his cheek and stroking her fingers over his stubble.

"Hmm..."

"Give me your hand," she instructed in an emotion filled, husky voice. He laced his fingers with hers, and she slowly guided his palm to the round rise of her belly so he could feel one of the babies kicking.

Cashew or Crumpet.

Who knew which? Neither parent cared.

Regina watched Robin's face as it morphed from _exhausted employer_ to _proud, doting father._

"He's anxious to get out of there," she said.

"Of course, he is. He's ours. How can we expect either of them to sit still for a moment, when we're their example," he rasped so softly that Regina could barely hear him.

"Robin, why don't you take a shower, and come to bed?" She said, more of a statement really, no question in her tone. And then she offered gently, "I'll rub your back for you."

Robin pulled himself awake and turned to look at her. "That sounds good to me," he grinned and stood. Fourteen pounds on her petite body and all carried at the front made it awfully awkward to maneuver herself up off the couch. He chuckled a bit, and she glared at him unamused, but the glare didn't last long.

Not when she had her very own knight and shining armor to give her a hand and help her stand up.

Robin managed to take a quick shower, wrap a towel around his waist and drag his feet to their bed. He collapsed into the mattress and the comforter of sheets and goose down, and Regina encouraged him to turn onto his stomach so she could knead tight muscles in his shoulders.

In less than five minutes, he was sound asleep.

Regina removed her robe and curled up next to him.

Just before drowsiness and pregnancy pulled her under, the bed dipped, and she felt two little balls of fur make themselves comfortable at their owners' feet.

* * *

><p><strong>We don't own the characters but we do own the universe. ;)<strong>


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